BJJ Reigns Supreme At UFC Fight Night 176
UFC Fight Night 176 brought a fantastic card to Las Vegas, Nevada headlined by a matchup between Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns. This was a clash of two elite grapplers representing different styles, one of whom is not that far removed from being a UFC World Champion. Further down the card, Mackenzie Dern was also making her comeback after suffering her first professional loss against Amanda Ribas, a fight that she took only four months after giving birth. Both BJJ world champions would come out victorious, although Dern was the only one to get the submission finish as she caught Hannah Cifers in a vicious Kneebar to secure the tap early in the first round.
The first round started as a striking contest as Burns stunned Woodley early with some big right hands, he then followed him to the mat and controlled the wrestler in full mount to continue landing shots until Woodley managed to escape to standing and survive the round. The second round started off with some striking exchanges before Burns shocked everyone by pulling off a slick double-leg to take Woodley down and although he got up soon, he still ended up spending the second half of the round being bullied by Burns in the clinch.
The third round was a little slower as Woodley was clearly searching for the emphatic knockout and Burns was a little hesitant to engage directly for fear of Woodley getting his way. Burns was simply outworking Woodley on the feet by this point though, stunning him again and wobbling with him his repeated use of the leg kick. The fourth round saw more of the same as Burns ramped up the tempo and ended up dropping Woodley with a right hand for the second time in the fight. Woodley reacted by shooting for a takedown and although he successfully drove Burns to the fence, he was countered with a beautiful trip takedown.
As Woodley fought to use the cage to stand back up, Burns latched on a Guillotine attempt and tried to end the fight, although Woodley managed to survive to the final round. Woodley came out in the final round clearly knowing that he needed an immediate finish in order to win the fight as he was really swinging for the fences. Burns sees the opportunity and shoots for another takedown, driving Woodley to the fence and giving him a glimmer of hope as he reverses position, only to stall for time with Burns against the cage.
As Herb Dean resets the fighters, Burns spends the last few minutes of the fight showing everyone that him outworking Woodley on the feet wasn’t a fluke. He ducks under the majority of the big shots that Woodley is throwing and ends the fight looking fresh and excited for the title shot he’s no doubt just earned, while Woodley is cut, bruised and battered after losing five rounds straight.
UFC Fight Night 176 Full Results
Gilbert Burns def. Tyron Woodley via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-44 x2).
Augusto Sakai def. Blagoy Ivanov via Split Decision (27-30, 29-28 x2).
Billy Quarantillo def. Spike Carlyle via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3).
Roosevelt Roberts def. Brok Weaver via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) (R2, 3:26).
Mackenzie Dern def. Hannah Cifers via Submission (Kneebar) (R1, 2:36).
Preliminary Card
Katlyn Chookagian def. Antonina Shevchenko via Unanimous Decision (30-25 x3).
Daniel Rodriguez vs. Gabriel Green via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3).
Jamahal Hill def. Klidson Abreu via TKO (R1, 1:51).
Brandon Royval def. Tim Elliott via Submission (Arm Triangle) (R2, 3:18).
Casey Kenney def. Louis Smolka via Submission (Guillotine) (R2, 3:03).
Chris Gutierrez def. Vince Morales via TKO (R2, 4:27)
To watch the full replay of UFC Fight Night 176, click here to sign up to UFC Fightpass.
